Serenade
by manekinekotan
Summary: A hot summer day. A practical joke. Anger management therapy. Homework. Music. A chain of events helps a certain tough biker confront the uncertainties of the heart. That's how it started. 3/26/11 - edited again.
1. Chapter 1: Summertime Blues

_A/N - 3.19.11 - Did a few revisions to the original. Added a section, changed the timeline a bit, adjusted the flow (now has 2 chapters), and added an omake (see chapter 3) at the end. Hopefully didn't destroy the story in the process..._

_3.25.11 - More revisions and a bit of a tune up. And a big "THANKS" to MadHattess for betaing this fic!_

_MaiHime characters belong to Sunrise. _

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* * *

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**_(Mid-July, Second Year; Afternoon)_**

It was just another hot, humid day – not at all unusual for a summer day in Fuuka. And as usual, students and teachers alike suffered and endured, praying that some divinity would take pity on them, and send a cooling breeze towards them from the sea. Sadly, the local gods did not seem to be listening, leaving them all to languish in the sweltering heat.

Even in this heat, students still had classes, one of them being the fine tradition of physical education. Still, not even the most insane teacher (a certain red-head with a passion for Japanese folklore, history, and too many corny hero-type anime) would think of pushing students strenuously in THIS heat. And so, after a few minutes of unmotivated calisthenics, the listless teens were mostly left to their own devices. So long as they didn't wander off the field, they could do whatever they wanted. Most were taking it easy in the shade, wherever they could find it.

A few, however, were walking the school track, chatting amicably.

"I swear, Mai – I'm NOT going to take that make-up test if Midori is involved. Remember last time? She made us make cakes, for fu… OUCH! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" Scowling in annoyance, the second year rubbed her forehead.

"Language, Natsuki," her friend scolded. "You know it's a part of the school curriculum, so what choice do you have? You know as well as I do that you can't afford to skip any more tests."

"Yeah, yeah," the former truancy-queen acknowledged grudgingly. "But seriously, cooking? What's the point? It's not gonna help me get into a good university or anything, so what's the big deal?"

"Well, you know, they probably just want us to be all well-rounded, and learn some practical skills as well as academic ones. As in, 'be able to boil water without burning the pot and setting the kitchen on fire' kind of thing?"

"Hey, it was only once! And it was instant ramen! Besides, if they want to teach me something practical for my every-day life, why don't they have a class on motorcycle repair?"

Mai's laughter rang brightly throughout the yard. Natsuki found herself hard-pressed to keep a straight face. Spring vacation had long since come and gone, and somehow she had managed to reform enough to keep Sakomizu and the school administration satisfied with her improved grades and attendance. _'Of course, my grades wouldn't be so good if Shizuru weren't helping me with my studies from time to time,' _she admitted silently.

"You still can't skip, Natsuki. You promised Shizuru-san you'd stop ditching classes," Mai reminded smugly.

"Heh, cooking doesn't count as a REAL class," she scoffed. "I don't think she'd really…"

A sudden scream cut through her unfinished sentence. The pair exchanged a quick glance before running towards the source of the sound. They approached the corner of the main building quickly, almost running headlong into a small group of panicked girls.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Mai asked them, immediately trying to calm everyone down. A few of the girls screamed and pointed ahead.

"Mai, take care of them," Natsuki told the other girl shortly, taking off again. _'I'm no good with that kind of thing anyway. Damn, wish I still had my Elements' _With that last thought, she rounded the corner at top speed, and managed to narrowly avoid slipping on a patch of wet concrete, before she slid to a sudden stop, fists clenched and ready for trouble.

Only to be stunned as a wall of water descended upon her.

"Woah, check it out, guys!" came an excited male voice from above.

For a moment, she simply stood in utter shock, dripping. Slowly, haltingly, her eyes were drawn down towards her now drenched white tee-shirt, and saw what the boys were yammering about – her black sports bra was clearly visible for all the world to see. The tough biker shrieked girlishly, her hands shooting up to cover herself, her face beet red from embarrassment. _'Oh God, why me?'_

"Hahah! Geez Kuga, you're such a girl!" mocked that first voice again. A chorus of laughter sounded.

Natsuki instantly snapped out of shock, and humiliation transformed immediately into rage. She glared up to the trio of boys, hanging out the second story window. One of them was holding an empty bucket, whistling. Instantly, she was on her feet and racing for the door. She flew up the stairs, ignoring the startled students she almost trampled in the hallway, and flung open the classroom door.

For one quick moment, the boys saw a vision of green-eyed beauty, framed in the doorway. Then the pain started.

With a snarl, the biker moved like lightning, striking one laughing boy across the face with an elbow and sending him flying. Two steps to the right, a quick twist, a jerk of the knee, and another boy rolled on the ground, clutching at himself and gasping. Grab, two quick jabs, and the third boy was thrown against the chalkboard. Seething, Natsuki went back and grabbed the first boy by the collar, hauling him to his feet.

"Woah woah woah! C…calm down, Kuga!" the boy stuttered, blood dripping from a broken nose. "I…it was just a joke!"

Green eyes smoldered. "Ah, a joke, huh?"

"Y…yeah. Just a joke!"

She pinned him against a wall. "Yeah, see me laughing, shithead?" she growled, her grip on his shirt tightening. "Maybe it'll be funny to hang you and your buddies out the window, stripped down to your shorts, huh? Think it would be funny? I do. Wanna try it, asshole?"

"KUGA-SAN! Please release that student THIS INSTANT!"

Natsuki winced. _'Oh crap, it's Fumi. I'm so screwed.'_

_

* * *

_

**_(Late August, Second Year: 9:21 am)_**

She caught herself glancing at the clock again, and growled quietly under her breath. When a few nearby students edged away from her nervously, she realized it wasn't quietly enough. Resisting the urge to curse, she bit back another low-voiced growl of frustration. Despite her attempt to keep her growing irritation to herself, the muffled noise was enough to drive at least one timid student to quickly leave for another table. Several more vacated the table soon after, when a certain black-haired student's forehead hit the table with a loud thud.

_'Gah! Smart move, Natsuki,'_ she chided herself silently, finding little relief in the momentary sting of self-inflicted pain. _'Scaring students out of the library will REALLY help convince that stupid shrink that you DON'T have anger management issues.'_

Before she could scare off more deer-eyed students with her antics, she opted for a strategic retreat. Closing the book she'd been half-heartedly studying from, she shoved it and her notebook into her messenger bag. Leaving the cool, temperature-controlled library for the hot, humid outdoors wasn't exactly a great idea, but anything was preferable to making a scene in public. Again.

_'But dammit, that wasn't my fault anyway!'_

She'd been sent to a psychologist, who had asked her a series of extremely uncomfortable and probing questions. The interview had left the biker red-faced and shouting, which in turn led the doctor to conclude that Natsuki was suffering from deep-seated trauma, probably stemming from the tragic and violent death of her mother and subsequent abandonment by her father. He'd suggested she be enrolled in therapy to help her deal with those issues, before she began developing any more psychological disorders.

_'Telling the doc to go fuck himself at that point probably didn't help my cause any…'_

At the meeting with Fuuka's principal, it had taken Yukino, Sakomizu, Sister Yukariko, Midori, and even a certain former Student Council President to smooth things over after that. In the end, they reached a compromise. As long as Natsuki attended classes regularly, kept her grades up, stayed out of trouble, and got some counseling for her anger management issues, Fumi would keep the school psychologist at bay.

Although Natsuki still didn't know how much actual "help" Midori had been. Really – a speech about "justice" and "the follies of Youth" and the "maintaining of solidarity of the HiME rangers" ? She may have actually done more damage than good. _'Thank God Shizuru was there.'_

Shizuru…

She brushed aside the returning wave of irritation and pulled out her phone to send a quick text message to said college student. _"Going home. Library too noisy. Text when you're done over there."_

Once sent, she continued on her way to the woods, where her bike waited to take her back home. Just as she was stowing her bag and reaching for her riding suit, the phone beeped. She flipped the phone open again.

_"Drive safe, Natsuki. Don't forget your 11:00 appt. Check behind bushes for peeping Takedas."_

Natsuki rolled her eyes as she sent a reply. _"Idiot. See you later."_

* * *

**_(Late August, Same Day, Second Year; 12:30pm)_**

"A guitar?" the driver asked, glancing quickly to catch her companion's expression.

"Yeah. And lessons, maybe," Natsuki affirmed, then broke off to add a quick warning. "Hey, keep your eyes on the road!"

"We're at a red light, Natsuki," Shizuru countered calmly.

"No, it WAS red. Now it's green," the biker retorted. "Drive already."

"Ara, Natsuki is quite the back-seat driver. How troublesome."

"I'm not in the back-seat. So there," she stuck out her tongue childishly. "Besides, YOU just got your license all of a month ago. I've been driving these streets for years…"

"Illegally," the college student pointed out.

"Well, yeah…"

"On a modified not-quite-street-legal motorcycle, wasn't it?"

"Shizuru, that's not the poi…"

"And quite recklessly too, as I recall…"

"Oh shut it," she grumbled, feigning exasperation. She steadfastly ignored the amused giggling coming from the other woman. Some things never change.

"So, why the sudden interest in music?"

"Eh, Kimura's idea," Natsuki shrugged uncomfortably, naming the therapist she'd been assigned to visit twice a week. "Something about an easier way for me to deal with emotional stuff."

Dr. Kimura had noticed early on that Natsuki wasn't exactly good with the whole _"let's talk and share all our fluffy feelings and be happy friends"_ kind of thing. In order to avoid enduring hours of stuttering attempts to talk, awkward silences, and possible bursts of frustrated rage (the type to result in broken furniture and complicated explanations to police officers), they had been seeking some way to get past that barrier. On a hunch, she'd suggested music – it seemed to be their best bet.

_"Your mom was like that too, a long time ago," the therapist had admitted, with a slight smile. "Not the greatest at expressing her emotions, but put her in front a piano, and – bam – there was all this power, flooding out."_

_She'd caught the curious look in green eyes, and chuckled. "Oh yes, I knew your mother. Back in high school. Shy little Saeko, always had her nose in a book. You resemble her a bit, in some ways. Now, what instrument do you want to try out first?"_

Natsuki shook the memory off. "So, anyway, do you know where I can get one?"

Shizuru paused for a moment as if in thought, discreetly admiring the slight blush on her friend's face. "Well, there is the music store in the shopping mall," she noted, then added teasingly, "Natsuki probably has never noticed it, as it is not near the game store or the lingerie shop."

"Yeah, yeah, shut up," Natsuki sighed. "I wonder how much it'll cost…"

"We can go take a look now, if you'd like," Shizuru replied. "In fact, I insist."

"Huh? Wait…"

But Shizuru had already turned the car around, and was headed back towards the shopping mall. "Consider it a late birthday present," she told the biker happily.

"Um, Shizuru, you already got me a birthday present. Two weeks ago. One present per birthday is the general rule, you know."

"Then consider it a commemorative gift," came the cheerful reply.

"For what?" Natsuki asked. Then panicked, the realization coming too late. _'Oh no, there's that look, I know that gleam in her eyes…'_

"How about a belated 'congratulations on successfully not being held back a year due to excessive truancies' gift? Or maybe a 'token of appreciation for not hitting a pompous psychologist in the face and getting charged for assault' gift?"

Natsuki groaned.

"Well, had Harada-san been present to take pictures of your latest incident, it could have been a 'thank you for showing off your athletic figure and tasteful underwear' gift, but unfortunately…"

"SHIZURU!"


	2. Chapter 2: Wintertime Serenade

_A/N - 3.19.11 - Did a few revisions to the original, changed the timeline a bit, adjusted the flow (now has 2 chapters), and added an omake (see chapter 3) at the end.  
_

_3.25.11 - More revisions and a bit of a tune up. And a big "THANKS" to MadHattess for betaing this fic!_

_MaiHime characters belong to Sunrise._

* * *

**_(January, Third Year, 10:23am)_**

After a couple hours attempting to study, Natsuki finally gave up. She pushed the books aside with an irritated grunt and again checked her phone for messages.

_'Nothing yet. Damn, hope she's ok.'_

She sighed and laid out on the couch, staring listlessly at the ceiling. The meeting was scheduled to start at 10 am. Natsuki wasn't really sure how it all worked – how long were those things supposed to last, anyway? Normally, she'd just ask Shizuru, but in this case she couldn't do that not when it was Shizuru's thing to begin with.

_'Stupid, stupid, stupid. Stupid Fujinos and their stupid omiai,'_ Natsuki growled to herself. _'Damn it, she's not even 20 yet, for fuck's sake! Marrying her off at that age is ridiculous! Besides, it's not like she's interested in boys or anything… and… well…'_

She felt her cheeks grow warm as she recalled how Shizuru had told her about the meeting, all of two days ago. The college student had chuckled at Natsuki's sudden tirade against ridiculously unnecessary and out-dated traditions.

"Ara, is Natsuki only bothered by the fact that these traditions are out-dated?" Shizuru had interrupted mischievously. "Or is she, in fact, bothered by something entirely different? Jealousy, perhaps?"

She'd turned red then too, she recalled, and stammered something incoherent and vaguely denial-ish for a while, before the elder woman finally laughed and had given her a reassuring pat on the head. "Natsuki should not worry so," she added, maple eyes twinkling merrily. "Once things are finished, I can help Natsuki study for her next English test, yes? Otherwise, she may not achieve high enough marks to avoid another session with the psychologist. What a tragedy that would be, for both his family and professional collegues…"

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered under her breath, brought back to cold reality by that thought. "I do need to study my English, damn it. Too bad I can't concentrate on books right now." She sighed. _'Well, I guess we can do it the other way.'_

Natsuki got up and made her way to the stand in the corner. Shuffling through the various music books to find one she liked, she then picked up the acoustic guitar and made her way back to the living room table. After settling herself comfortably on the floor, she strummed a few chords to limber up her fingers. The strings vibrated, sending pleasant musical sounds into the air.

It was a little odd, but in the process of learning the guitar, while also increasing her scholastic studies, she had discovered something interesting. Or rather, Shizuru had discovered something interesting. It seemed Natsuki learned the English language better with music. Somehow, by going through all the English lyrics and translating them into Japanese, then memorizing them to the music helped Natsuki to set the meanings of those words and phrases into her mind.

Shizuru had immediately dragged the high school student to the nearest music store, and together they browsed through the music books, finding songs in English that she could learn to play on the guitar. And despite her initial aversion to the singing thing (induced mostly out of fear of Mai dragging her to another karaoke session), Natsuki was reluctantly persuaded to give it a try.

To her own surprise, when not unduly stressed by drunken teachers, rowdy classmates, and the threat of ridiculous cosplay outfits, Natsuki could actually carry a tune fairly well a fact she intended to keep a secret. _'Because God help me if Mai ever finds out.'_

With a final strum of her warm-up routine, Natsuki flipped the book to a song she liked. Her fingers moved silently across the fret board as she scanned through the notes. It was a familiar song, one she'd practiced before, but a quick review never hurt. After a few minutes reminding her fingers how to move through this particular song, she began to play.

Natsuki started off slowly, at first concentrating on hitting the right notes. The tempo was slow – slower than it should be, but she tried to keep an even beat as her fingers shifted across the fret board. She winced when she missed a note after one particularly difficult transition, but soldiered on despite the mistake.

She soon found the sequence of shifting hand-contortions flowing more naturally, giving her the chance to reflect on the song itself. Natsuki admitted quietly to herself that she'd always liked this song. The melody was slow and seductive. The notes were filled with a sense of indescribable longing, and undying devotion. An underlying air of quiet desperation lingered in the background, hinting that the hoped-for happy ending was not necessarily a foregone conclusion.

The English song had power, had drawn her even before she'd bothered learning the lyrics, let alone translating them into something she could understand. Actually, when she first started translating the song, she'd been so embarrassed that she'd almost thrown the entire book out – but much cajoling from a pouting Shizuru had managed convince her to keep practicing the song. But lately, in the past three weeks or so, she'd been particularly drawn to the song. Especially so. And even she could not pretend she didn't know why. Not anymore.

Not when Shizuru is out there, attending an omiai. _'Not when her family might be taking her away from me.'_

She was humming the melody under her breath now, trying to drive the doubts and fears from her mind. She focused on the lyrics in her mind, the words resounding silently through her soul, even as she strummed the strings.

"If he loved you,  
Like I love you.  
I would walk away in shame…  
I'd move town, I'd change my name."

She thought about those words for a moment, and the emotions behind them. No, more than that – she thought about her emotions, her insecurities and fears, which those words seemed to reflect. Rationally, she knew it wasn't likely Shizuru would agree to marry this man. Not only because of the feelings she'd admitted to harboring for the biker, but just on general principles.

"When he watches you,  
When he counts to buy your soul  
On your hand his golden ring,  
Like he owns a bird that sings."

_'A loveless marriage? No way, not Shizuru. She's an incurable romantic about stuff like that. She'd never settle for anything less than the real thing.'_

Still, the mere possibility made fear shoot through her chest painfully.

"When we dance, angels will run and hide their wings."

Natsuki poured that uncertainty into the music. Her humming became more charged with emotion.

"The priest has said my soul's salvation,  
Is in the balance of the angels,  
And underneath the wheels of passion,  
I keep the faith in my fashion.  
When we dance, angels will run and hide their wings"

Humming along wasn't helping anymore. She needed more.

_'Screw it,' _she thought._ 'No one is here anyway.'_

She sang. Natsuki's singing voice was not gruff and brusque, like her everyday speaking voice. No, this voice, which only one other had ever heard, was definitely softer, gentler. More feminine. More vulnerable. And filled with emotions she'd never dared express aloud.

"If I could break down these walls  
And shout my name at heaven's gate,  
I'd take these hands and I'd destroy the dark machineries of fate.  
Cathedrals are broken, Heaven's no longer above,  
And hellfire's a promise away, I'd still be saying –  
I'm still in love… still in love… still in love… still in love…"

The words felt right. They fit the uncertain emotions roiling turbulently within her heart.

"He won't love you,  
Like I love you.  
He won't care for you this way,  
He'll mistreat you if you stay."

"Come and live with me,  
We'll have children of our own.  
I would love you more than life,  
If you'll come and be my wife."

When we dance, angels will run and hide their wings,  
When we dance, angels will run and hide their wings,  
When we dance, angels will run and hide their wings,  
When we dance, angels will run and hide their wings."

Natsuki hit the closing chord and close her eyes, letting the sound quietly fade away into silence. She was so caught up in her emotions, she never noticed the presence behind her. Until, of course, warm arms gently snuck around her neck, and she found herself being embraced lovingly from behind. Green eyes shot open in surprise.

"Shizuru?"

"Ara, I thought Natsuki wasn't feeling jealous at all?"

"W…well… um… anyway, what happened to your omiai?" Natsuki asked, trying to ignore both Shizuru's teasing question and the heat in her own cheeks.

"I declined to attend."

"What? You can do that?" she pulled away a little, shifting the guitar, turning just enough in the older woman's grasp so she could stare incredulously into maple-colored eyes. Eyes that were almost (almost!) uncomfortably close to her own. "Weren't your parents mad?"

Shizuru chuckled at confusion on her companion's face. "While it is not a path looked upon with much favor, it is nonetheless a valid option to choose." Her face stilled, expression growing somber for just a moment. "And yes, they were rather displeased with my choice."

Then she focused on the biker still in her arms, and smiled warmly. "But I am glad I left early. After all, I was able to hear Natsuki sing such a beautiful song. In English, too." Shizuru's eyes softened, and she added almost hesitantly, "Perhaps Natsuki would consider singing it for me again, someday?"

Natsuki saw the flash of uncertainty in Shizuru's eyes, and understood the subtle question wrapped within the simple-seeming request._ 'I know her feelings. My feelings… not so much yet. But I know that I don't want to lose her. And I want her – want us – to be happy.'_

She gathered her courage and tried to keep her voice steady as she replied.

"Su… sure, Shizuru. I'll sing it for you again," she managed to respond, blushing intensely. She turned her gaze away from her clinging friend, pretending to ignore when the grip around her tightened in response. "How about now?"

"Thank you, Natsuki," Shizuru replied warmly, the barest hint of a quaver in her voice. "I would like that."

With a nervous grin, Natsuki began to play the song from the beginning once more. 

* * *

_A/N - 1.31.11 - MaiHime characters belong to Sunrise. The song lyrics are from "When We Dance" by Sting (1994: A&M Records). _

_I have great respect for all the fanfiction writers out there. It's not easy to get into the mindset of someone else's characters, someone else's universe, and spin them into a story of your own imaginings. It's something I myself normally fail miserably at, and so normally avoid._

_That being said, this little bugger of a scenario managed to sink its teeth into my ass, and has absolutely refused to let go. I literally had no choice but to type it out, just to get it to stop haunting me._

_I admit the song choice was perhaps not the BEST fit, IC-wise, for immediately post-series Natsuki, but I figure a year+ of working on her relationship with Shizuru would affect some changes in her gruff outer demeanor. At least in private._

_In any case, hopefully someone out there will enjoy this little effort._


	3. Chapter 3: Omake 1

_A/N - Blame Shizuru for the omake. I was listening to the radio on the freeway when this song came on, and suddenly this scene kind of flashed into my head._

_3.25.11 - Just a few revisions. A big "THANKS" to MadHattess for betaing this fic!_

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Omake #1

_**(College, First Year; End of the First Trimester)**_

"Shizuru, what's this?" Natsuki lifted a music book. It was open to a particular page, marked with sticky tabs.

"Hm?" her companion inquired, looking up from the cutting board, where she was just starting with the dinner preparations.

The first trimester was finally over, but the pair had opted for a quiet evening in rather than going out on the town with Mai and the others. So instead of a night of slightly drunken, somewhat off-key singing with gaudy cosplay outfits, Shizuru was over making dinner in Natsuki's apartment. Because going "out on the town" with Mai inevitably meant karaoke, and Natsuki still adamantly refused to let the redhead know she actually could sing. Shizuru really didn't mind keeping Natsuki's secret – although she did occasionally tease about it.

_'Then again, if she didn't tease me about it, I'd think something was wrong.'_

"Oh, that. It seems to be some music, Natsuki."

The biker rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I got that. The question is, what is it doing HERE?"

"Oh, well, Natsuki seems to like that other song so much, I thought that she might like this one too," came the nonchalant reply. "It is by the same artist, and is from the same album."

"Huh? What song? And what arti…" she broke off when the normally unflappable ex-kaicho unaccountably flushed, ever-so-slightly. Natsuki felt her own face redden in response. "Oh, you mean 'that' song."

"Yes, 'that' song," Shizuru agreed cheerfully. "And while I do enjoy Natsuki playing 'that' song for me as often as I can persuade her to do so, I thought that perhaps she would like to learn something new. I wouldn't want you to get bored of 'that' song, after all."

"Um, no… I'm not getting bored of 'that' song, Shizuru," Natsuk protested, feeling the heat rising from her cheeks and spreading across her entire face. _'Gee, suddenly this floor pattern is SO interesting to stare at.'_ She added quietly, "I know you like it, and… and I like playing it for you."

A quick glance back to Shizuru's face revealed a spreading flush. _'Heh, at least I'm not the ONLY one, this time…'_

"But if you like this one too, I can try to learn to play it as well. If you want."

"Thank you, Natsuki. Yes, I would like that."

"O…okay. Let me go get my guitar, then."

* * *

While Shizuru returned to the kitchen, Natsuki sat in the living room, with the sheet music and her guitar. She spend several minutes sounding out the different chords (since, if she was going to be singing it, learning the chords made more sense than learning just the melody) before realizing she should probably hear how the song in its entirety should go. So she flipped open her laptop (Shizuru's old one, received as a gift once the Fujino heiress had received a new one for her last birthday) and pulled up the web browser. In a matter of seconds, she was watching and listening to the Englishman sing.

_'Okay, yeah. I think I've heard this one before. Nice. Melodic.' _Her eyes narrowed. _'But, knowing Shizuru, there's a catch somewhere…'_

Pulling up a new tab on the browser, she pulled up the site for the online English-to-Japanese translator, and started translating the lines of the song.

As she translated, she realized for perhaps the first time that she was much quicker at understanding than she had been before. For one thing, she didn't always have to see the lyrics written out – some of the words, she actually recognized as they were sung. Other words, too complicated-sounding to her untrained ear, she still had to see written.

Initially, she focused on translating the song line-by-line, making sure she understood not just the literal translation word-for-word, but the actual meaning behind the words. Then she took the lines in context, and tried to understand what they all meant together.

Soon enough, her initial suspicions were confirmed. _'And, dammit, there goes my blushing again. And she hasn't even started teasing me yet.'_

"Hey, Shizuru?" she called over her shoulder, careful not to turn towards the kitchen.

"Yes?"

"You know… that trip to the countryside we're taking? For summer vacation?" She kept her voice as steady as she could.

"Yes?"

"Um… just to let you know…"

"Hmm?"

"I'm not making out with you in public. Not even in a wheat field," she managed to say.

A long, embarrassed silence filled the apartment. Natsuki smirked. _'Gotcha, Shizuru.'_

"Ara, then what about in private?" speculated the other thoughtfully. "Would 'that' be acceptable, Natsuki?"

"Sh…Shizuru!" she reddened at the other woman's teasing laughter.

_'Damn, you win again, oh master-of-the-teasing.' _Natsuki grinned. _'Then again, I wouldn't have it any other way.'_

_

* * *

A/N -__ MaiHime characters belong to Sunrise. The song alluded to here is "Fields of Gold" by Sting (1994: A&M Records). _


End file.
